Ironer padding



Dec. 2, 1941. F. J. WAKEM I RONER PADDING Filed Nov. 10,.1938

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ATTORNEY 4 INVENTOR A was Patented Dec.2, 19.41-

-' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE IRONER PADDING Francis John Wakem,Manhasset, N. Y., assignor to Johns-Manville Corporation; New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application November 10, 1938, Serial No.239,744- (Cl. as s5) 4 Claims.

The present invention relates to-improvements in covering assemblies forthe rolls or other pressing members of ironing or pressing machines,particularly those employed for flat-work.

conventionally, fiat-work ironers comprise one or more hollow, paddedrolls which are rotated in heated and highly polished concave-beds. Thematerials to be ironed, such as cloth articles, are fed while in amoistened state between the roll and bed and aresubjected tosimultaneous heat and pressure. Press type ironers, also conventionallyemployed, comprise a fiat padded bed or buck and a swinging, usuallysteam heated,

cover member. -In machines of this type the moist articles to be ironedare placed over the fiat bed or buck and pressed between it and theheated cover member.

To provide the desired smooth finish and dry condition ofthe articlesironed,'it has been determined that thepadding which covers the roll ofthe roll type ironer or the bed or buck of the flat type ironer musthave a smooth surface, be uniform in thickness, lasting in resiliency,and capable of readily dissipating moisture vapor. Apadding heretoforeproposed for this purposewhich has satisfactorily fulfilled the majorityof the above requirements consists of a felted mat of preferablyasbestos fibres faced with a covering cloth of cotton, asbestos, or thelike. However, where paddings of this type have been employed overextended periods, they have packed down and become hard and unfit forfurther use. It has been determined that this de-' terioration of thepadding is caused by the action of moisture, vaporized during theironing operation, escaping intothe pad and finally becoming absorbed bythe fibres of the pad. The absorp tion of moisture by the fibres tendsto destroy their resiliency until, upon, sufiicient absorption, thefibres lose substantially all their resiliency and the packing andhardening of the padding occurs.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide an asbestospadding orpadded covering assembly for fiat-work ironers and the likewhich will meet all of the above-stated desiderata, namely, which willbe heat-resistant, smooth, and permissive of moisture dissipation andwhich will, at the same time, be of lasting resiliency and resistant topacking down over long periods .of time.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a padding of theabove-stated type which includes a waterproofing treatment sodismoisture by the fibres, while permitting adequate and continuousdischarge of moisture vapor.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a paddingfor flat-work ironers and the like capable of retaining its resiliencyover long periods of use without substantially increasing the cost ofthe padding.

It'has heretofore been proposed to overcome theabsorption of moisturebyironer paddings through the provision of a moisture-proof membraneorcloth as the outer covering of the padding. This proposal has not,however, proven satisfactory, principally due to the fact that theescape of moisture through the padding and its covering is substantiallyinhibited and thorough drying of the article undergoing the ironingoperation is prevented. Thus, though the proposed expedient does serveto prevent the absorption of ding substantially throughout the samewithout f moisture by the padding, it does not provide a pad which meetsone of the primary requirements of a satisfactory padding, namely, theability to readily and continuously. dissipate moisture vapor.

- For the attainment of the above-noted objects, and in contrast to theprior proposal as above referred to, there is formed, according to thepresent invention, a, padding of resilient asbestos fibres, the fibresin at least that portion of the padding adjacent its outer surface, thatis, the surface which is to be adjacent the article ironed, beingprotected by a moisture-resistant.

material. Suitably, the moisture-resistant material may coat theindividual fibres of the padfi-lling the interstices between the fibres,or alternatively may 'be in a substantially continuous layer-adjacentthe outer surface of the padding coating the fibres and closing, orsubstantially closing, the openings therebetween.- The padding assemblyis completed by an outer covering of porous binder cloth and a poroussurfacing sheet. In both forms of the invention, ,sub-

stantial absorption of moisture by the fibres is prevented, and at thesame time escape of the moisture vapor is permitted through theinterstices of the pad covering. In the construction in which themoisture-proofing is applied only to the individual fibres, the moisturevapor may also escape through the unfilled interstices of the paddingitselff My invention will be more fully understood and further objectsand advantages thereof will become apparent when reference is made tothe -more detailed description thereof which is to folposed as toprevent substantial absorption of low and to the accompanying drawing inwhich Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic elevational view of a roll type flat-workironer employing paddings of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken through one of the padded rolls of themachine, for example, on the line 22 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but depicting a somewhat modifiedform of the padding.

Referring now to the drawing, the invention is disclosed as embodied inpaddings for roll type fiat-work ironers. It will be understood,however, that this type of ironer has been selected for convenience inillustration only and that the invention is in no way limited theretobut is equally applicable, for example, to-paddings for flat press typeironers. As disclosed in Fig. 1, the ironer may suitably comprise a bedplate Ill forming the upper wall of a steam chest H. The bed plate Inincludes concave portions 12 cooperating with one or more driven ironerrolls i3. Any suitable number of the rolls may be employed as determinedby the size and character of the articles to be ironed. Each of therolls l3 has a resilient covering 20.

In accordance with the preferred form of the present invention, the rollcovering 20, as illustrated more in detail in Fig. 2, comprises a. padof resilient asbestos fibres 2|. The pad may preferably be formed ofthe; fibres in interfelted rela-' tionship, but other ways of combiningthe fibres may be employed if desired. For example, rovings composed ofasbestos fibres may be assembled as by wires, threads, or the like,woven. knitted, or otherwise incorporated with the rovings in the padstructure. Also, loose strands of asbestos fibres may be woven into padform. The individual fibres carry a preferably substantially continuouscoating of a moisture-resistant material 22v For ease of illustration,the coating has been indicated only on the fibres of a magnified sectionof the padding, but it will be understood that substantially all of thefibres are similarly coated. Suitably, the moisture-resistant materialmay comprise zinc st'earate, aluminum stearate, ammonium stearate, andlike known waterproofing materials. However, these materials are merelyexemplary of a large class of materials which may be employed, it beingapparent to those skilled in the art that others of the numerouswaterproofing media having similar properties may be substitutedtherefor.

The water-resistant medium may be applied to the individual fibres ofthe padding in any suitable manner. For example, during the conventionalcarding operationin the preparation of the fibres for felting or otherpad forming operations, the binder may be sprayed on or otherwiseapplied to the fibres, whereby substantially each fibre will be coveredwith a coating of the moisture-resistant medium. Alternatively, themoisture-resistant medium may be applied during other stages of thepreparation of. the fibres,

it being preferred, however, that such application be made prior to thefelting or other pad forming operations to readily obtain thesubstantial covering of the individual fibres desired without fillingthe interstices of the pad itself.

The padding of asbestos fibres carrying individual coatings of thewaterproofing material is suitably confined against the surface of theroll l3 by a binder sheet or cloth 23. The binder cloth preferablycomprises a closely woven but air-permeable asbestos fabric and includesan end portion 24 secured to the roll i3 by an adhesive or the like. Tl:cloth 24 extends betw en adjacent ends of the padding 2! andcompletelyaround the padding to provide a protective and securing cover therefor.Suitably, the roll covering assembly also includes an outer cover orfacing sheet 25 overlying the binder cloth. The facing sheet 25 maycomprise a woven asbestos fabric, but suitably is of cotton or similarmaterial and is pervious to water vapor or steam similarly as cloth 24.

The roll covering assembly described above exhibits all of theadvantages of the previously proposed asbestos paddings or coveringassemblies and additionally overcomes the faults thereof. Thus, themoisture-proofing of the individual fibres prevents the same fromabsorbing any substantial amount of the moisture vapor or steam givenoff by the article being ironed as it passes through the bite betweenthe roll and the hot bed plate. As a result, the fibres retain theirresiliency over long periods of use of the padding, preventing hardeningand packing down of the same and greatly prolonging its life. At thesame time, due to the lack of impedance to moisture penetration withinthe interstices of the pad and the permeable nature of the binder clothand covering sheet, ready and continuous dissipation of the moisturevapor is permitted.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 3, a somewhat modified form of theinvention is depicted. According to this form, a moisture-proofingmedium, which may suitably be any of those previously referred to, isapplied to a layer of the fibres adjacent the outer surface of thepadding. The moisture-resistant material in this instance not onlycovers the individual fibres in the outer layer of the padding, but alsoat least partially fills the interstices between the fibres of saidouter layer, whereby substantial penetration of the moisture vapor tothe unprotected inner layers of fibres is prevented. The application ofthe moisture-proofing medium may in this case suitably be obtained byapplying the medium to the surface of the padding after the forming ofthe same, for example, in a cold state and thereafter warming thepadding to such an extent as to soften the moisture-proofing medium andto permit the sam to penetrate to some extent into the padding.Alernatively, a solution of the moisture-proofing medium may be appliedto the' outer surface of the pad as by spraying or the like andpermitted to partially penetrate therein.

The last described form of .the invention, while inhibiting anysubstantial escape of the moisture vapor into the pad itself, allows forsuccessful operation of the ironer due to the fact that the.moisture-proofing is located entirely in the padding, which is, inturn, covered by the overlying convolutions of the pervious binder clothand cover sheet. The latter, as previously described, are suitablyformed of asbestos cloth and cotton cloth, respectively, and providenumerous interstices through which the moisture vapor passes to escapefrom the surface of the roll at either side of the bite between the rolland bed plate.

. Having thus described my invention in rather full detail, it will beunderstod these details need not be strictly adhered to, but thatvarious changes and modifications will suggest themthe scope of theinvention as defined by the subjoined claims.

What I claim is:

1. A covering assembly for fiat-work ironer fibresyamoisture-vapor-pervious binder cloth overlying a face of said pad, amoisture-vaporpervious cover sheet overlying the binder cloth.waterproofing medium individually coating the fibres of said pad.

3. A' covering assembly tor flat-work ironer rolls and the likecomprising a pad of asbestos fibres, a moisture-vapor-pervious bindercloth overlying a face of said pad, a moisture-vaporpervious cover sheetoverlying the binder cloth and providing a facing for the assembly, anda moisture-proofing medium impregnating a layer of said pad adjacent theoverlying binder cloth.

4. A covering assembly for fiat-work ironers and the like, comprising apad of asbestos fibres,

a moisture-vapor-pervious sheet overlying said pad, and a water-proofingmedium carried by the fibres inat least that portion of the pad adjacentthe overlying sheet.

FRANCIS JOHN WAKEM.

